Middvites sweetens social scene New site facilitates communication about events and parties

Author: Tess Russell

For most Middlebury students, choosing ideal seating in the dining halls is based on a precise equation of factors: round versus rectangular tables, chair mobility, and fro-yo machine proximity are all important concerns. Still, arguably the biggest draw of dinner (besides, you know, the food) is the opportunity to stalk - ahem, people-watch. After months of qualifying your FIC crushes by such flattering standards as "the Adonis of MOO leaders" or even "that petite blonde who wears sandals when it rains," you now have an impetus to do some investigative research and actually learn their names.

Enter www.middvites.com, a new "social facilitator" conceived by Konstantin Schaller '09 and Hussein Alramini '09. The Web site, which went live earlier this week, allows students to send anonymous email invites to the objects of their secret admiration.

"When you see someone around that you like [during the school day]," said Schaller, "you're not necessarily going to go up and talk to them, but meeting them at a party makes it easier."

These interactions, though, do not have to be limited to late-night rendezvous. Alramini pointed out that Middvites is "well-tailored to different tastes," given that athletic contests, Middlebury College Activities Board (MCAB) functions and basically anything else going on at Middlebury are all fair game. Students have two options for posting new entries to the "What's up?" section - they can notify the site's administrators of upcoming events, or they can register with Middvites and compose posts directly.

Perhaps the most exciting feature of the new service is its integration of Twitter (www.twitter.com), a tool that allows users to "follow" friends by receiving frequent status updates on their cell phones. The general inefficiency of communications at the College has been a hot topic of late, and Schaller and Alramini hope to streamline things, at least on the recreational front.

"It seems bizarre that we live in the 21st century and still see posters everywhere around this campus," said Schaller.

Alramini elaborated on their desire to help publicize club-sponsored events and bring other incidents of nonexclusive fun to the forefront of the social scene.

"Now that there are fewer social houses than there used to be, it seems like the focus has shifted to more private parties, which are perceived as cooler," said Alramini. "You often find people wandering around at 1 a.m. without anywhere to go, but if they could receive notices on their phones about these other things that are happening, they would definitely show up."

Middvites is relatively straightforward and easy to use. In fact, according to its creators, the most challenging aspect of designing the site was creating security protocols to prevent the sort of abuse that can inevitably stem from anonymity. These safeguards include the provision that students are only able to contact two crushes per day, presumably instituted to both curtail spam efforts and maintain some semblance of moral uprightness, as well as filters against profanity. And lest you think that they created Middvites simply because they want to get all up in your business - that their motives, like those of a high school gossip who organizes a Valentine's Day carnation fundraiser solely so she can peruse people's private notes to each other, are impure - they have assured me that all crush correspondence is automated and unmonitored.

Schaller's and Alramini's creation has the potential to be a useful resource for students, but it will only be effective if both individuals and student organizations are enthusiastic about using it. They look forward to reading suggestions on the "feedback" portion of the site, and hopefully even to hearing testimonials.

"We are excited to find out if it actually works - to see whether this is responsible for any marriages," joked Schaller.